Kids Emailing Teachers
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Anonymous
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Just curious about opinions. My husband mentioned to me that his son/my stepson had emailed a teacher to ask about a part of a homework assignement he had forgotton to write down. I mentioned how funny that was that kids could get access to teachers after school now, and he told me that DSS has been doing it regularly, like two or three times a week (granted to different teachers) with quesionts like "did we have any homework" or "can you resend me X assignment" or even "my printer doesn't work, so I can't bring in this assignment" I said, at that point, that perhaps he should talk to him, as it seems really inappropriate to be bothering teachers after school with such mundane questions. And it might be better to brainstorm on ways to do better at recording homework, locating assignments, contacting friends, or using pen and paper if the priner breaks! But dh feels like if the teachers didn't want to respond they woudl just say so.
So, am I hopelessly behind the email times....or would other parents of younger middle schoolers discourge their kids from doing this. (Required stepmom disclaimer....this is vague curiousity only. Of course, it is up to DH. But, I do get the urge to practice my preteen parenting responses for when our DD is that age!) |
Anonymous
| My kid is too young for homework and I'm not a teacher but this is ridiculous. No wonder my interns think it is OK to come bother me for answers to questions that a 10 second google search would answer. |
Anonymous
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OP,
The teachers will handle it. Many encourage this at this age. After all it's the student, not the parent, who's managing their homework! The three questions you offered as examples all sound reasonable to me. I agree that emailing teachers could be a crutch but asking classmates is not always sound, often it's best to get responses from the teacher. (It is NOT ridiculous for a student who missed class to email about missed homework or asking how to handle a broken printer. How is a classmate going to answer the question about the broken printer? What if the classmate is confused about the homework and relays the wrong information?) |
Anonymous
| My child's teacher does not respond to certain emails (with excuses) but when she can she points DS in the right direction for resources. She made clear to them that she will not always see emails after 4pm but that they can try and if she happens to be online and can help she will. |
Anonymous
Ugh, when you have relevant experience, please come back and visit this forum, instead of "Hi, I know nothing about this, but will put in my 2 cents anyway." And you think the kid is bothersome. |
Anonymous
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I agree w/PPs- if the teachers have given our their email addresses and encourage electronic communication, they will also manage what is acceptable/appropriate to ask. It is a form of independence and from a teacher's point of view probably better to get the message from the student than from the parent.
I know w/our young MS student she does periodically email teachers- but she also never uses the internet or email w/o us knowing she's online, so we are aware of all the correspondence. |
Anonymous
| What I. Have seen is that teachers do encourage communication but also are good about setting boundaries. I wouldn't worry about it. In fact, I am a bit impressed with his confidence in communicating with teachers. When I was young, I'd sooner have died than talked to a teacher. |
Anonymous
| Some teachers set up a separate account specifically for student e-mails. If a teacher is willing to give out their e-mail address and encourage kids to use it I think it's great. It also takes away the excuses of "I didn't know", "I lost it", " I didn't understand" etc. |
Anonymous
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OP,
Plus every teacher will have a different policy. |
Anonymous
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Middle school teacher and mom here.
I'm happy to answer student emails if I check in the evening (which I usually do.) I'd much rather hear from a student directly than from his/her parents with these questions. I do tell students that there is no guarantee that I will see emails in the evening, so don't count on them. I also insist they email me with a respectful tone and not like they're chatting with a buddy. Dear Mrs. X, full sentences in the body, Sincerely, Student X. The examples the OP gave don't seem excessive to me. |
Anonymous
I'm a college professor, and I have to have the same discussion with my undergrads and grad students. It drives me crazy to get "hey firstname" emails from my students, and even at times from prospective students! I tell them that until I am such good friends with them that I use texting language in my correspondence with them, they should assume that I don't want texting language in correspondence to me. This usually drives the point home. OP, I agree with the others -- if the teachers are not OK with the emails, they will reply, nicely, that the student should be asking a peer. I think it's great that you are checking and aware, but the teachers will definitely be able to handle any excessive emailing from your DSS. |
Anonymous
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OP -
My son's teachers wouldn't be thrilled with any of those emails because all could have been handled with the electronic information provided by the school on a daily basis. My son's homework is posted daily and often in advance. He shares homework documents regularly with the teachers via google docs. Furthermore, the printer email: my son is able to share anything he writes via google docs. An email followup saying he'd shared a document and would print it from school if she preferred would have been responsible, perhaps. Note there's no excuses and the assignment is on time. Sounds like your step son may be coming off as clueless and lazy. I would ask your SS if there are other ways to get the information besides bothering the teacher and go from there. |
Anonymous
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OP here! Thanks for all the replies. I think the pp nailed my biggest concern, I don't think it comes off well do be doing so much emailing. I'm suprised that so many folks think its fine, but I'm willing to concede Im behind the times on this one!
But, even if the teachers are "ok" with it, I think I might mention to his dad that he might give them a better impression by not asking the questions. I want to clarify that these aren't days he has missed class, just times he has forgotten his agenda or not recorded the homework. The printer thing seems to have been informing the teacher the assignment would be late, so perhaps a chat about tone would be helpful as well! He's a great kid. And, like another pp, I never would have the nerve to have done this at his age, but if he is getting no feedback that there are better alternatives than emailing, I can't help but wonder if that's the best thing for him. |
Anonymous
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OP, this isn't just for middle school. My DS is much younger (1st gr, MCPS) and has a very limited email account (meaning that only a few people are programmed as prospective recipients & I have full access to his account).
DS's handwriting is awful (fine motor delays), but computers are a great alternative. He was invited by both his K & 1st gr teachers to email them as a way of encouraging him to write. The teacher also set up a google doc journal for him (which they have also shared with us). I don't know that this is super common, but it is a lot earlier than I had expected it to happen. |
Anonymous
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OP,
I tried to make this point above. It's the teacher's call! Think about it. These emails are useful because they let teacher know that he's not organized since he's forgetting his agenda, etc. If he doesn't email her, then what? As for his tone when the printer is broken, I'm not clear why you would think that the email is not the right tone. Maybe the best thing to do is ask DH if he could get the teacher's take on this. Also, if his mother's in the picture, how do you know she hasn't discussed this with the teacher. I think it's presumptuous of your to suggest changes without hearing from the teacher. |